BABY BLUES’ SPECIAL DELIVERY — IT’S A GIRL!

(FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE) On October 26, 2002, Darryl and Wanda MacPherson, the frazzled Mommy and Daddy in the popular, family-oriented comic strip Baby Blues, officially become outnumbered when Wanda gives birth to their third child, a baby daughter named Wren. However, this time the maternity ward has a few more familiar faces in it as the stork works overtime to keep up with this expanding cast of characters.

Created by Jerry Scott and Rick Kirkman in 1990, Baby Blues delivers homespun humor and slice-of-life reality to new parents, grandparents, kids and singles everywhere. Currently, the strip features two expectant mothers: Wanda, the star mom of this internationally syndicated strip, and Yolanda, Wanda’s best friend. Bunny, the MacPherson’s nosy next-door neighbor with the perfect life, recently delivered twin boys.

“I don’t think there has ever been a comic strip with three characters that were all pregnant at the same time,” said artist Rick Kirkman. “I’m glad it’s finally over. I was getting tired of the swollen ankles. My fingers were starting to look like pork sausages. And you have no idea how hard it is to find cartoon maternity clothes!”

In producing this year-long, labor-intensive story line, Kirkman and Scott were tempted to use actual Lamaze breathing techniques while figuring out ways to fit all the pregnant characters into each little panel. “Wanda has been taking up way more than her share of panel space, and we’ve had to work to squeeze the other characters in, straining the strip to its maximum width. I’d be lying if I said we weren’t concerned about stretch marks,” award-winning writer Jerry Scott joked.

Nearly 40 million readers daily enjoy the parenting adventures of this lovable and devoted mid-30s couple as they adjust their lives around the demands of child-rearing. Since Baby Blues first appeared on the comics pages, the list of newspapers carrying the feature has grown — almost as fast as the MacPhersons’ diaper bill!

Baby Blues is distributed by King Features and currently appears in more than 800 newspapers in 28 countries and 13 languages. Earlier this year, Scott received the Reuben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year from National Cartoonists Society. In 1995, the National Cartoonists Society recognized Baby Blues as “Best Comic Strip of the Year.” The adventures of America’s favorite first-time parents also have been chronicled in 20 anthologies. The latest collection, “Dad To The Bone,” is now available in bookstores (Andrews McMeel Publishing, $10.95).